Contents QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION OF THE ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC COMMUNION

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1 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION OF THE ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC COMMUNION One of the joys of being Bishop Francis Vicar to the region is the chance to journey with new folks who find our way of being church attractive. He, Dcn. Bonnie Pino Fraser and I got to visit with one such community in Downtown Denver. Attending their Mass on the eve of Bonnie s ordination was serendipitous, as this church hosted Mthr. Kae Madden s ordination liturgy years before! At the heart of St. Paul s Lutheran and Roman Catholic Community of Faith is its mission an open, affirming, and diverse community of faith representing two Christian traditions, that of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and that of the Roman Catholic Church. Each tradition maintains and honors its own heritage, and each worships according to its own liturgical practices. As one community of faith, the members of the respective traditions work together in social outreach and shared hospitality. Together we rejoice in the manner in which diversity has enriched, nurtured, and challenged the life and ministry we share in Christ, and we regret actions and attitudes throughout the Church that may have inhibited or prevented access to Word and Sacrament because of age, race, socio-economic or marital status, physical or mental capacities, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We are a Reconciling in Christ community. +Francis preached and concelebrated the Mass with Catholic Co-pastor Fr. Don Sutton, and presented an overview of the ECC at a reception following. He was almost giddy over St. Paul s model of ecumenism they re not just tenants; both communities see each other as inherently and prophetically linked. Contents Vicar Musings, 1-2 Shoe Drive for Jamaica, 2 CHF Pastor Search, 3 MoM Happenings, 4-5 COB, 5 LOC Tango, 6 Dcn. Bonnie s ordination, 7-8 LOC s new pastor, 9 Rev. Denise tribute, 10 CTA Regional Conference, 11 Co-Editors Kerrie Anderson, Copy twigleaf@frii.com Fr. Michael Nicosia, Layout nicosia410@yahoo.com The Journey Shared Summer

2 Denver s Roman Archbishops, past and present, have found them anathema, particularly in their self-identification as Roman Catholic. Lutheran Bishop Gonia is very supportive, but wants them to clarify their identity and belonging. And so the process of joining the ECC has begun. Fr. Don and I have met several times, socially and pastorally, to clarify steps for incardination/ reception. The community s leadership has drafted a Constitution faithful to their history and identity, to be presented to the community for discussion. A particular challenge will be how to separate out the Catholics and their contributions in their common membership roster and budget. The goal is that their bond be more concrete and intentional, realizing that they can t be ecumenical partners if they remain a single, nebulous entity. Their creativity may provide a model for our ECC communities who share space with other denominations. ~ Fr. Michael Nicosia Pax Christi ECC as a whole community hopes to attend one of the Catholic Masses (Saturdays at 5pm) at St. Paul s sometime in August, and looks forward to joining them for their annual Labor Day Picnic part of the dating process. We ve also been invited to St. Paul s 10:30am Sunday Service on Oct. 29th celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. ELCA Bishop Jim Gonia will be presiding/ preaching, and Fr. Michael has been invited to co-preside with him and Fr. Don (and asked to bring his flute!). An invitation was also sent to Bishop Francis, but he extended his regrets, having an ordination that day in St. Louis. Visit St. Paul s website at ECC Rocky Mountain Region CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY Rev. Denise Roberts-Graham, Interim Pastor Fr. Scott Jenkins, Pastor Emeritus Fr. Jim DeMuth, Parochial Vicar Mass: 10:00 am Sundays E. Iliff Avenue Aurora CO Jennifer LaRochelle, Administrator (303) jennifer@holyfamilyco.org St. Paul s Co-Pastors, Fr. Don Sutton (Catholic) and Rev. Penni Walsh (ELCA, Interim) Three of our ECC communities Light of Christ in Longmont, Church of the Beloved in Northglenn, and Pax Christi in Denver had begun to help Friends Can Make It Happen collect used shoes for the people of Jamaica. As the organizers just returned from a trip there, collecting in Colorado has been cancelled for now. (Having emptied our closets, maybe we can look into helping out a few years down the road.) Hundreds of shoes have already come in, and some of our churches will continue collecting until Aug. 22nd. They will be redirected locally to those in need. Thank you to all those who have put energies into this worthwhile effort. CHURCH OF THE BELOVED Mother Kae Madden, Pastor Mass: 5:00 pm Saturdays Grant Drive Northglenn CO Mother Kae ; pastor@churchofthebeloved-ecc.org Fr. Paul Burson Fr. Len Schreiner The Journey Shared Summer

3 Church of Holy Family said good-bye to founding pastor, Father Scott Jenkins, this past February. Since then, Holy Family has been blessed to have interim pastor, Rev. Denise Roberts- Graham, presiding at Masses and helping the community during the transition process. At the same time, Holy Family staff and the Parish Leadership Team (PLT) have been hard at work getting the word out about the new pastor position, conducting interviews, and hosting site visits. Although this process has been the focus of CHF leadership over the last six months, it has been on the minds of community members much longer than that. The process for calling a new pastor started a year and a half ago when Father Scott told Holy Family he was going to retire. Over the course of a year, recently ordained Deacon Bonnie Pino-Fraser led a transition committee that hosted discussions with the community to hone Holy Family s identity and core values, and define the characteristics that are important in a new pastor. The PLT used the information supplied by the community and transition committee to compile a packet for prospective pastors and to develop interview questions. A job posting was made and staff worked actively with the Office of the Presiding Bishop to vet the candidates who submitted their information. The PLT then conducted an online first-round interview with the candidates before inviting them to meet the community. Holy Family has just completed the site visits with the candidates which included a secondround interview with the PLT, a community potluck and Q&A session, and the celebration of Mass with the community on Sunday. The next step for Holy Family is to hold a community meeting and vote to call the pastor that best fits with the community. It has been a lengthy process, both joyful and painful, but the leadership and community look forward to a fruitful relationship with a new pastor in the coming years. ~ Jennifer LaRochelle, CHF Administrator PAX CHRISTI ECC CHURCH Fr. Michael Nicosia, Pastor and Regional Vicar Fr. Stan Manickam, Pastor Emeritus Mass: 4:30 pm Saturdays moving to 4:30 Sundays 9/ Sixth Avenue Denver CO Fr. Michael nicosia410@yahoo.com Rev. Denise Roberts-Graham 64deniser@gmail.com Sue Kaessner, Administrator suekaessner@me.com LIGHT OF CHRIST ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC COMMUNITY Fr. Teri Harroun, Pastor Masses: 5:00 pm Saturdays, 11:45 am 2nd and 4th Sundays 1000 W. 15th Avenue Longmont CO ; churchoffice@lightofchristecc.org The Journey Shared Summer

4 MARY OF MAGDALA COMMUNITY Fr. Jim DeMuth, Pastoral Director Mass: 5:00 pm Sundays 1208 W. Elizabeth Street Fort Collins CO Fr. Jim baptized Baby Luna in August. What a beautiful new part of our congregation. Marissa and Edgar are her parents. Welcome Baby Luna! MoM Youth prepared and served a dinner for the Faith Family Hospitality program in Fort Collins. MoM helps with this program on a regular basis. FFH is a program to help families without regular homes until they find one. Also check out our friends of the COMMUNITY IN BOULDER Mass: 1:30 pm every first and third Sunday Community United Church of Christ 2650 Table Mesa Drive Boulder CO Mother Sheila Dierks sheiladierks1@gmail.com For more information about the ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC COMMUNION, visit The Journey Shared Summer

5 On Sunday, August 27th we will be celebrating our founding and the Feast of the Transfiguration. We will gather for Mass out on the front lawn at 2pm, followed by a potluck and some games. We are all God's Beloved! If you plan to attend as our guests, please rsvp to maddengk@msn.com. Mary of Magdala held their first Mass in the Park on June 11th. Edora Park in Fort Collins was the site of the event. Our wonderful musicians played music while we set up and gathered the good songs. Fr. Jim kicked off the Mass by blessing the bikers and bikes. Passing Jesus (aka as a red ball) through the attendees was a focus point of the liturgy Jesus available to all, friend to all. After Mass a potluck was enjoyed by all present. It was fun to see the inquiring looks from people walking, biking, skateboarding by. Next year we ll add a sign Mary of Magdala Ecumenical Catholic Community, All are welcome to celebrate with us! Rev. Denise Bender, our youth coordinator, arranged for four confirmation youth and a parent along with Mother Kae to prepare 100 sack lunches at Cameron United Methodist Church from donations from that church. We took them to Civic Center Park at noon on Saturday, July 15 to hand out to the homeless who gather every day at noon for sack lunches. This ministry is called AfterHours. After we handed out lunches and water, we had an interesting discussion on homelessness, its causes, and our response as people of faith. Following Mass on Oct. 7. The Journey Shared Summer

6 lights, and sound. It was a stellar production. Thanks to local newspaper stories, people came to see the play, about half stepping into Light of Christ for the first time to see the play. There was an ice cream social after the play that was also well attended. Light of Christ youth enjoyed a theater camp week in June presenting the play "And Then Came Tango" written by Emily Freeman. "And Then Came Tango" is the true story of two male penguins at Central Park Zoo (Roy and Silo) who form a male bonded pair and build a nest together. After observing them trying to hatch a rock that they placed in the nest, the zookeeper decided to give them an abandoned penguin egg. Roy and Silo sat on the egg until it hatched, and then raised the baby girl whom zookeepers named Tango. The play is intended for young audiences and families. Its message is one of inclusion and love of all kinds within families. Theater Camp was run by Tango directors Kelci de Haas and Sammie Harroun. Both women grew up at Light of Christ and are now in their 20's and college graduates working in education but also having degrees in theater. They lead 12 children and youth from Light of Christ in putting together everything related to the play including acting, costumes, props, sets, The Journey Shared Summer

7 The Ordination of Dcn. Bonnie Pino-Fraser The Journey Shared Summer

8 Those who gathered came with cards and gifts (no not Christmas), a cake (no not a birthday), extra vested clergy (no the Pope did not come), a large gathering of people - some unfamiliar faces but all smiling and chatting (no not another synod). Hhhmmmm.. The indoor garage sale was over... companions knelt with her. Bishop Francis blessed and anointed, Bonnie's wife Christie donned her with a stole. Hugs and blessings were showered upon her. Church of the Holy Family has a new Deacon and she is beautiful... inside and out! Bonnie, the Church is grateful for your "yes." Aaahhh could it be, for real? Our own Bonnie Pino-Fraser, in procession wearing an alb! And there was Bishop Francis Krebs wearing his miter and carrying his crozier. That's it! It was ordination day! Bonnie was going to be ordained a deacon! On June 11, Church of the Holy Family, friends and family, rose in the morning to a beautifully sunny day. With regular Sunday routine, they got themselves ready for Mass. However, it was NOT a normal routine kind of Sunday. Yes, it's true! On June 11th, at Church of the Holy Family at a not-so-regular Sunday Mass, Bonnie Pino-Fraser was ordained a deacon to the delight of all gathered, Church of the Holy Family, and the ECC. As she lay prostrate on the ground, those who were significant journey The Journey Shared Summer

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10 From the start we noticed the gifts God has given to her her pastoral presence, her wealth of experience and abundance of self-deprecating wit, her empowering style of leadership, her musical mastery and patience with our singing and called her to serve the Church and our little community as priest. Both Rev. Denise Ann RobertsGraham has done well, beyond the call, for us and for our Region. It was at one of our community s movie nights that Denise met her wife, Sarah. It has been an honor to have watched their relationship flower and grow. Our love and support for them will continue even across the miles. We will celebrate their journey at a Potluck dinner after our 4:30 Mass on September 9th poignantly our last Saturday Mass (it moves to Sundays the following weekend). All are welcome to join us, with a little heads up to our Admin. Sue suekaessner@me.com, so we re prepared. ~ The members of Pax Christi ECC The Journey Shared Summer

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